1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flapping apparatus having a pair of wing portions provided respectively on right and left sides of a body with respect to forward and backward directions.
2. Description of the Background Art
Conventionally, various robots for home use have been developed. A flapping robot that moves by flapping flight comes to be studied widely, as an example of such robots. Various mechanisms have been proposed to have the flapping robot make flapping motion. For instance, a mechanism using an actuator with three degrees of freedom for one wing or a mechanism having two actuators each having one degree of freedom for one wing has been proposed.
The mechanism using an actuator with three degrees of freedom for one wing mentioned above, however, requires a very precise processing accuracy. Therefore, reduction in size of such mechanism is difficult. A mechanism having a plurality of actuators each with one degree of freedom for one wing increases the total weight of the flapping robot. Accordingly, the mechanism requires larger lift for the flapping flight and consumes much power.
Therefore, there is a demand for a flapping mechanism having only one actuator with one degree of freedom used for one wing, which realizes a complicated three-dimensional locus necessary for flapping flight and hovering.
In the conventional flapping robot described above, a mechanism has not been realized in which only one actuator with one degree of freedom is used on one wing and lift is improved by forcefully twisting the wing.